Awakening
by lokogato
Summary: Wow. another non-romance/romance fic. *wonders if she has been shunned by all Slayers fan for misplacing a fic* Anyhoos. Xellia. REad. R+R, PPL!!
1. Xellos

Awakening  
  
Chapter One: Xellos  
  
Questions  
  
Anger.  
  
Anger is a funny thing, is it not?  
  
It causes so many deaths.  
  
So much pain.  
  
What is anger?  
  
Love.  
  
That is a funny thing as well.  
  
It causes deaths also.  
  
And pain.  
  
What is love?  
  
Are the two really all that different? Why, then, is love always valued above anger? Is it for that one chance, that one tiny perhaps, that you have found the missing piece of your heart?  
  
Mazoku do not bother with such nonsense. Love? What is that? Does it benefit me? Anger? It blocks the mind. You do not think clearly when anger clouds your mind. It most certainly does not benefit. Humans do. Love helps them be strong, they say. Anger helps them be strong, they say. So. Are they really that different after all? Then why are they so different?  
  
Is love merely anger, in another form?  
  
And is anger merely love, in another form?  
  
Or are they one and the same, and only named differently?  
  
Questions are not good for a Mazoku only one under the Mazoku Lords. You cannot question the higher ranks. And the lower ranks surely do not know any more than you. And. My liege lord. Juuo-sama. Lord Beastmaster. Straightforward kind of Mazoku. Not affectionate. Not cruel. Has to think about any consequences before acting. Wise. But, as a Mazoku, she knows little of emotions. She was created a Mazoku by L-sama herself.  
  
Who can I ask?  
  
So it was with these thoughts, I turned to the last person in the world I expected to help me.  
  
Mazoku and Ryuuzoku have hated each other for centuries now. We two are not much different. But still. You may tell me, just to show that Ryuuzoku are superior. You probably would. But I asked you anyway. A Golden Ryuuzoku.  
  
High Priestess to the Fire Dragon King.  
  
Filia.  
  
Filia Ul Copt.  
  
You seem surprised, at first. A little disturbed that I, a Mazoku, would have such questions. And a little bit of that other of love. A little angry that I am speaking to you. But mace-sama did not come into play. You question me, first. Wanting to know why I wish to know about such things. Was I not a creature without feelings? The response to that was simple.  
  
"Sora wa himitsu desu, Fi-chan."  
  
You look annoyed, but still mace-sama does not appear. I have caught you in a good mood, perhaps. You call me a familiar name, but I have long since grown used to that.  
  
"Namagami. Why do you want to know anyway? You have no need of that knowledge. It wouldn't benefit you, would it now?"  
  
You are beginning to know me too well. I am losing that mysterious aura, I suppose. Well. I do visit a lot, even if just to see Val. We all love Ancient Dragons just learning of their magic, don't we? Well, I am a masochist.  
  
"Hello? Anyone home?"  
  
You are waving your hand in front of my face. I snap out of my daze and plaster that smile that annoys you so much back on. Perhaps too abruptly.  
  
"I'm right here, Fi-chan."  
  
You blink owlishly at me. Have I caught you napping? The day seems unreal to me. Perhaps to you, as well. What do the humans call it again? Out of it. We both are out of it. What, then, was being in it? I wonder about those humans. They have so few reasons to do anything. I do believe they live a fuller life for that, though.  
  
"You're really dazed today, Namagami. Did you lose your tiny little mind out in the astral plane somewhere?"  
  
I stare at you through closed eyes. You have gotten sharper over the years. More suspicious. Cynical.  
  
"Our kitten has grown claws, I see. Feeling cruel today, are we, Fi-chan?"  
  
When did you stop getting annoyed at me for calling you that? Come to think of it, when did I stop getting annoyed at you for calling me Namagami? When did we do anything? The tentative peace between us is wearing thin, I see. Your patience was never very long with me.  
  
"Well? Why do you want to know?"  
  
"Can you tell me, Fi-chan? Or do you also not know?"  
  
It is a rhetorical question. Of course you know. You know what your elders taught you. But do you know the other side to it? You know what your elders taught you about the slaughter of the Ancient Dragons. You know now the other side. You know about the War of Monster's Fall, also from your elders. But you have not yet heard my side of it. You look at me, then speak.  
  
"Close your eyes again, please, Namagami. You look even freakier than usual with those eyes open."  
  
I shut them, startled. I did not notice that I have been examining you through narrowed eyes. I must not let my guard down like that. Getting old, are we now, Xellos? I chuckle to myself.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
Your crystal blue eyes are narrowed. Suspicious. I smile at you.  
  
"Nothing at all, Fi-chan. So. Can you tell me?" You sigh, and I can almost see your thoughts, wondering about my sanity. Many have.  
  
"Love and anger are indeed very similar, Namagami." I am slightly surprised. From you, I would have been lucky to get a few sentences on this. However, it seems you are ready to launch into a full-fledged speech. Perhaps you do hold the answer. I will wait and see.  
  
"Anger is a driving emotion. It helps humans- and some other races- be strong. Love is also a driving emotion. However, as I am sure you know, love is considered a positive emotion and anger a negative one." I open my eyes again. You seem to not notice. "Love is a hopeful emotion. It is as much a dangerous emotion as anger, but the pain that it can cause is usually internal. There is very little chance that you can find your true soul mate. It seems that humans have a better chance than any other race of this. Perhaps it is because they have such short lifetimes. True love is seemingly pointless. Does it exist? Or is it merely lust at its highest, most deceptive form? Who is to know?" Here you pause to look at me. "Follow me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Love is when you are willing to sacrifice all you have, all you are, for the other person. There is a link between you, although not physical, you ache when you are apart. Some races actually form a bond through the highest white magic. This is very rare, however."  
  
I watch you. You do not seem to be taking this from textbook material. "Have you such a bond with anyone?" I ask. It is a spur of the moment question, but you answer it. It seems you have forgotten whom you speak to.  
  
"No." You say. "All I can do for now is hope that someone will come." You add, a little dreamily. Even after all the years of your life, you still believe a little in true love, do you not, my little Ryuuzoku?  
  
"What is anger?"  
  
"It is when you feel a force behind your actions, you feel almost powerless to stop this feeling. It is aroused when someone hurts you, physically or psychologically. You feel the urge to hurt the person back, and if you cannot reach that person, anyone else around you. It is, in a sense, a lust for pain. I'm sure you know all about that."  
  
It makes some sense now. However, your words merely give me a new question to ask.  
  
"What, then, is hope?"  
  
You blink at me again. I know that all these questions, especially from a Mazoku like me, are unusual. You seem at a loss for explanation for a moment, then settle on an answer. You look me in the eye, and I realize that I have left them open for a long time. However, I do not close them. You are making me strange, no doubt of that. Ah yes, you are a very unique little dragon girl, are you not, Filia?  
  
"Hope. Hmm." You look up at the ceiling, then back at me. "Have you ever heard the story of the Box of Nightmares?" I shake my head. I have heard no stories except those that would benefit me. Very Mazoku.  
  
"Well, you do know that in the beginning, there was just the Sea of Chaos, and the Lord of Nightmares. When she created the world, in the beginning, there was peace. Everything was good. Even among the Mazoku." Even speaking of such a thing, even when we are finally at a kind of peace, you find some dig to poke at me. How typical. "Well, the Lord of Nightmares, so the story goes, got bored, and, just to see what would happen, she created a box, strewn all over with magical jewels and charms of protection, and gave it to a girl named Trouble Hope. Now, this box could not be opened unless you had extremely powerful magic powers. The Lord of Nightmares did not tell Trouble what the box contained, only not to open it, so of course she set to work, learning all the magic that was available at the time. Then, there was only white magic, so just imagine a Lina that used all the strongest white magic there was. Armed with all her knowledge, she went to the box and opened it. In an instant, all the problems of the world we know today flew out. There are two endings after this, however. One is that she managed to let out the last thing left in the box, and that was Hope. The other, which seems to make more sense, was that she managed to slam the lid of the box back on, trapping the last thing that was in there: Foresight. If everyone knew what bad things would happen to them in their life, they would just give up. As it is, they do not know, and so they can hope. Because it was Trouble that let all the evils out of the box, they gave her name to the things that she let out. But her second name was given to the good thing that she gave to the world: Hope. That's the story."  
  
I nod. "I see." I say. You look at me, surprised that I am there. You lost yourself in your story, did you not? Would I be right in guessing that this is one of your favorite stories? Perhaps from when you were but a little child. Perhaps. "It's an … interesting story." I say.  
  
"I used to love that story." You say softly. "I heard it when I was very little. My … mother … was the one who told me." You lower your eyes and examine the patterning of a teacup. Was it but my imagination, or do I see a suspicious moistening of your eyes? Everyone dies eventually, Filia. You know that, do you not? She did die, am I right? But dragons live long lives. You are but one thousand? Perhaps more than that, but no older than a millennium and a half. Your mother, according to usual dragon custom, would have birthed you at two millennia. Most dragons live for many, many millennia. Your mother was young to die. She did not die of natural causes, or did she die from sickness? But it is very rare for dragons to catch even a cold. Monster's Fall? Perhaps.  
  
"Your mother?" I say. "Where is she now?" I ask, even though I already know the answer. I need to be sure. Oh yes, I am the Beastmaster's creation.  
  
"She's … dead." You say, your voice suddenly going flat, devoid of emotion. "She died a thousand years ago, at the War of Monster's Fall." Suddenly, you look me straight in the eye again, but this time your crystal blue- and beautiful, yes, beautiful- eyes are angry. "Do you want to know why she died? Why my family died? Why I hate you?" I blink in surprise. This is different from your usual wild anger. This is a cold fury, bottled up for centuries now. "You." The single word is spat at me, slapping me with the force with which it is said, even though it is nearly whispered. "You killed them." Your eyes bore into me a moment more, and I close my eyes against the force of them. It is as if you are searching my entire being with those sapphire orbs. My very soul.  
  
Suddenly, the small bells over the door of your shop tinkles, and a woman pushes in. You break off your stare, which I can still see branded into my eyelids, and hurry to assist the customer. I watch you through lidded eyes, then phase out. That is quite enough talk for today. Particularly of that kind. 


	2. Filia

1 Chapter Two: Filia  
  
2 Revelations  
  
I sigh as I push the pedal of the pottery wheel. That was a strange talk with Xellos the other day. He had some strange questions, true. But it was almost as if … as if we were normal. Like … two old friends, meeting for a pleasant chat. Although the subject was anything but pleasant.  
  
I hadn't talked about Monster's Fall for some time now. It was ironic, wasn't it, that the very same person who had caused me to try to forget it brought it up. And I hadn't heard or told the story of the Box of Nightmares for so long. I feel a sudden warmth under my hands and realize I have held them still for too long, causing the swirling clay to burn my hands. I quickly take them off, and look at the lump of clay sitting there, ceasing to pedal. A teacup is forming, wide-rimmed and thin. I close my eyes for a moment, remembering the first time I had held a teacup. I had broken it.  
  
Why did a Mazoku even have questions about such things anyway? It was almost as if he was human. Or another race. Any race, except for the Mazoku. Mazoku do not feel emotion. I am sure of that. Or am I?  
  
Xellos has changed my perceptions of the world and things in it, truth be told. Yes, Xellos! That 'filthy, dirty, conniving Mazoku'. Such is what I used to say of him. He is so different from what I expected, a long time ago- what is it the humans say? Way back when. Yes, way back when. So different from what I expected, way back when. I had always thought of him as a snarling beast, as befitting his name. Lesser Beast. He served Zelas, the wisest Mazoku. But still. A Mazoku, all the same. I pictured him with knotted and tangled fur, a body much like a wolf's, eight eyes- where did I get that? I'm not sure. Eight eyes, and a red, snaggle-toothed, snarling mouth. Ready to 'kill any Ryuuzoku that crossed his path'. So Elder spoke of him.  
  
I, a Golden Ryuuzoku, crossed his path alright. I even traveled with him for some time! And yet here I am, the owner of a successful pottery, weaponry and tea shop. Still alive. I thought him strange, I wondered why he chose to look so innocent. So … handsome, even. Nothing to hint that he was one of the most powerful creatures in all creation. Why? I wondered this for some time. Then I began to think he had plans. Evil plans, that would reach fruition later. I once thought he wished to resurrect a piece of Ruby Eye Shabrinigdo, the piece that Ruby Eye saw fit to store in Mr. Zelgadis. For when he created Mr. Zegadis' chimera body, he found him as an invaluable place to store one of his pieces. That stone body was a wise place for it.  
  
I perceive the world much differently from when I first started out on that journey to fetch Miss Lina to the Outer World. Naïve, I was. So innocently naïve, believing all that my Elders could feed to me.  
  
Xellos saw a side of me I have hidden away for centuries now. The side that was before Monster's Fall. Before my parents' death. After they died, I felt … guilty. Yes, guilty. I felt I had failed them in what they had hoped I would be. I became the 'sweet, kind, rule-obeying priestess' I am now. It was this new temperament that allowed me to become the High Priestess to the Fire Dragon King. Before … now I pretend to be given to anger that flares and recedes as quickly as it shows. As for before … before I had a slow, smoldering anger that burned for centuries. Sharp, cynical. Sarcastic. Instead of plain anger, I contented myself with bitter thoughts and sharp snips occasionally. I have not changed, internally. I pretend to work into a rage. But I still smolder. Pure hatred against some person that died centuries still finds itself the darkest recess of my heart. My so- called 'pure' heart.  
  
Xellos' visit also aroused questions in me that only one person can answer. Well, used to be able to answer. The Elder used to be my closest confidant, and even with him, I could not tell all my heart felt. He was my surrogate father figure.  
  
Who else could answer? Elder would have told me the Golden Ryuuzoku version of it. I need the other point of view. The 'evil' that is not really that evil's point of view. Who else?  
  
Ryuuzoku and Mazoku have hated each other for centuries now. Are we really that different? Both stubborn. Both willing to destroy whole races. Mazoku even, perhaps … better. They did not destroy … the entire race. No, we are not that different, you and I. Not that different at all.  
  
How to go about such a thing? Such an … unthinkable thing. What would the young Filia have thought of such a plan? Go to the Lesser Beast myself! Wolfpack Island? Interesting name. I suppose that there are packs of wolves on the island to spur such a name. Wolves. I have never been afraid of any animal, knowing that I am a Ryuuzoku. The last of the once most powerful group of Ryuuzoku. Raising the last of the most powerful Ryuuzoku before my race. An Ancient. How much my life has changed!  
  
Wolfpack Island. To go to Wolfpack Island. Or … perhaps you will visit again. Perhaps you will return, with more questions. Good. I will be ready for you then. Ready with questions of my own. Questions about … you. Will you answer?  
  
I don't know.  
  
You do come.  
  
More questions?  
  
I suspected this much, and I tell you so. Punctuated, of course, with a 'Namagami' at the end. Didn't you used to work into a rage when I did that? I used to be the only thing that could make you truly angry. You used to be the only thing that could make me truly angry, for that matter. When did we change? I wonder. I can still remember your early reaction to it: "NAMAGAMI?! NAMAGAMI?! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU GET NAMAGAMI?!" You stare at me with those disturbing amethyst eyes open. Did I say that out loud?  
  
"Something wrong, Fi-chan? Or are we just reminiscing of … shall we say, to put it delicately, past happenings? Our … first encounters, perhaps?" You say. I smile at you coldly, baring sharp white fangs.  
  
"Much more pleasant for me …" I say, my voice 'dripping with the sweetest poison'. So my sister used to tell me when I began to use that tone. My sister that died because of you. "… than for you, I believe, Namagami." You twitch slightly. You are too used to the furious Filia, aren't you? This … cold sarcasm does not settle well with your stomach.  
  
Your stomach that holds not food, but negative emotions. Picky, picky, Xel- chan. I wonder what your reaction would be if I called you that?  
  
I wonder.  
  
Have I the daring to try? Perhaps. But for now … the sun is setting. I remember the last time I really watched a sunset. A millennia ago, it was. My mother took me to the mountain near the Temple to watch it the night before I started to train as a priestess. A night before she died. I have never watched a sunset since.  
  
Is it safe to watch? Will it rip open the darkest part of my heart, the shadowy corner where my hatred and secrets are kept? Worse yet, will it cause me to break down before you, of all people? I will take the chance. Ah yes, the old Filia is coming back indeed. I pity all who have to see her.  
  
You watch me. "Did you not say you were expecting me to visit again, Fi- chan? Why is that?" You ask. It may be just my imagination, but you almost sound like you are trying to start me talking again.  
  
"Come." I say. "The sun is setting." You stare at me again. You leave your eyes open a lot these past days. You are growing strange, you are. "I, for one, intend to watch it. If you do not feel like coming, kindly leave everything where it is." I walk out the west door.  
  
I feel a slight wave of energy as you teleport out. "Too lazy for even a little walk out the door, now, Namagami?" You blink at me. No, you are most certainly not used to this new- or old- Filia, are you now? You cannot even retort with something.  
  
"Now." You say. "The question I had was another somewhat … philosophical one." You pause, and look at me. I wonder again what causes you to open your eyes now.  
  
"Now, Namagami." I say, not returning your gaze. "No questions just yet, if you please. I plan on watching the sunset in peace." I turn my gaze west, towards the setting sun, which is quickly turning the sky around it shades of gold. You raise an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, if you insist, Fi-chan. In fact, I haven't watched a sunset in a long time either." You turn towards the west as well.  
  
The sky around the sun is a deep, fiery red. It fades to a pale orange, then gives way to clouds of a shade not quite stormy periwinkle blue, not quite darkish purple, and not quite dark cotton candy pink. The sky beyond is a rapidly darkening shade of innocent blue.  
  
"The sun turned the sky into a rainbow of insignia …" I say softly. "… as he placed two fingers on her forehead and said gently …" I hear the rustle of your cloak as you turn to me. "… 'I will always be with you …" You look slightly surprised, but make no move to speak. "… as long as the sun rises every morning' …" The sun fades a little deeper into the horizon as I finish speaking. "… and his blood-stained glove fell to his side, but she did not weep as the life left his body … for he had made his promise … to stay with her until the sun did not rise again … and where his fingers had touched, a mark of blood was made … to show that love between two races that hated one another … was possible…"  
  
I stop speaking abruptly. I know not why I suddenly chose to recite that story. Particularly with you. From a different race. A race that has hated mine and mine has hated for millennia.  
  
"What was that, Filia?" You ask. Not a trace of teasing in your voice. How out of character. I turn on my heel and march inside the house, with you trailing at a respectful distance behind me.  
  
I sit primly on a chair, and do not invite you to sit in one. You sit in the chair across from me anyway. That is more like you. Much better. "Now, Namagami." I say. "I answered your questions last time. Now you are going to answer mine." You blink in surprise.  
  
"Well, all right, Fi-chan." You say. Back to your old, annoying self. I really do wonder what you would do if I called you Xel-chan. I must try that the next opportunity I get. "But what could you, High Priestess to the Fire Dragon King, not know that I, a filthy Mazoku, do?" Ah. Here is my chance to test this.  
  
"I wondered that myself." I say sweetly. "But I'm sure that your age and knowledge far surpass mine …" I drag the 'a' in 'far' dramatically, and finish my sentence with your new title. Sending a stinging slap in each syllable, yet still sweetly. As sweet as honey and as deadly as hemlock. "… Xel-chan."  
  
You seem to be surprised for a second. Then you begin to twitch. Rather quickly the twitching becomes an expression of anger. "What did you, a Ryuuzoku, just call the Priest of a Mazoku Lord?" You say forcefully. I would have been afraid you would kill me before. Now, I do not care. No one else will care, why should I?  
  
"Xel-chan?" I ask innocently. It seems our roles have been rather reversed in the last few minutes. I calm, annoyingly composed. You furious, ready to rip my hair out.  
  
You finally manage to calm yourself, although your usually carefully hidden aura is flaring dark black around you. You take a deep breath, and look at me. "You are taking rather dangerous chances, Filia Ul Copt." You hiss. I smile at you with closed eyes. Giving you a taste of your own medicine, a human would say.  
  
"Of course, Xel-chan." I say sweetly. Opening my eyes a slit, I see that you are twitching. A lot. You speak calmly with effort.  
  
"Now." You say. "What were your … questions?" Now comes the hard part.  
  
"My questions?" I say. "Oh, that. What was your side to the killing of the Golden Ryuuzoku?" I ask nonchalantly. You, however, are not so calm.  
  
"What?" You say, obviously in shock. I have unnerved you completely in the past few minutes, have I not? How … amusing. I have a strange feeling this is how you think. And yet I do not care. "You, of all people, want to know my side to the Golden Ryuuzoku Massacre?"  
  
"Oh, is that what you Mazoku call it?" I ask. "I was wondering." You are still twitching. "Oh, I'm sorry I interrupted you." I say. "Please do continue, Xel-chan."  
  
"I had orders." You say simply. "Orders to kill any Ryuuzoku that happened to cross my path at the time. Juuo-sama, Haao-sama and Kaao-sama were all having a spat with a Golden Ryuuzoku Elder. What was his name now?" You say thoughtfully. No, that word does not fit you. Pensively. Pensive Xellos. Ah yes, it works better. You say pensively. "Ah, yes. Saichuro." I jump in surprise. You notice.  
  
"Surprised, are we not, my little Ryuuzoku?" Now we have both unveiled the true person underneath, haven't we? This should get interesting. Your little Ryuuzoku? That will be punished, Xel-chan. I'll see to that.  
  
"Saichuro-sama, Xel-chan dear?" I say sweetly. "You are mistaken, I should say." You twitch, your carefully gathered composure falling apart again. I see now why you enjoy annoying people. The reactions are quite satisfying. I am beginning to suspect that I am a little sadistic after all. The pure dragon priestess. Sadistic.  
  
"You wanted to hear my side of it, did you not?" You say. "So kindly listen to it." I lean forward and put my elbows on the table, supporting my head with my hands, smiling a smile that bares wickedly sharp fangs. I have not smiled like so in a long time.  
  
"Oh, do forgive me." I say. "Please continue …" You lean forward and place your elbows on the table, in the same position that I am in. We are now close enough to count eyelashes. "… Xel-chan." I whisper, breathing onto your face. You do not flinch. Your smile is a reflection of my own.  
  
"Of course, Fi-chan." You reply, also in a whisper. Now things are getting interesting. "Juuo-sama, Haao-sama and Kaao-sama all sent their generals to kill Golden Ryuuzoku. Word got around that the Ryuuzoku were sending a delegation out to make war, and they debated about which Lord's General to send out. At the time, Juuo-sama had a General, and I was merely her Priest. The natural choice at the time, actually, was to choose Phin, Kaao- sama's General, mostly because she was the most powerful. However, both Juuo-sama and I had a little grudge against your Elder. He had rather severely taunted the power of the Beastmaster, even though she was the third most powerful General under Shabrinigdo at the time. Being her Priest, I was more sensitive to taunts about her power than her General. She managed to convince the two others that I was sufficient to defeat the delegation. Then, because he had showed no anger at Saichuro's taunting of Juuo-sama's power, she destroyed her General, and I was granted the power of both a General and a Priest, therefore making me the most powerful Priest or General." This is more than you have talked in the entire time I have known you. Well, at least at one time.  
  
"Mmm-hmm." I say. "So then you destroy nearly a whole race?" Your smile is wicked.  
  
"Yes, Fi-chan." You reply acidly. "Of course." 


	3. Valgarv

1.1 Chapter Three: Val  
  
Awakening  
  
You are strange these days.  
  
True, Mr. Xellos visits a lot more, and not merely to see me and annoy you. You and Mr. Xellos seem almost as if friends, although you always gives a great sigh of relief when he had gone.  
  
Typical of you, Mother.  
  
Though it makes me wonder what your topic of conversation is.  
  
You always act as if you hate Mr. Xellos.  
  
Well, Mr. Xellos always acts as though he lives only to annoy you.  
  
Does this remind one of anything? Like that thing in school, where the boy teases the girl when he likes her? And the girl retaliates angrily to show that she likes him?  
  
He likes you more than a usual Mazoku should, Mother.  
  
Even I can see that.  
  
What hides behind that mask of innocence? Immense power, both you and I know. We both can sense it. Evil, you think. Are all Mazoku really pure evil? Is any race pure evil? Or pure good, for that matter?  
  
Was Mr. Xellos a human once? You tell me I was an Ancient Dragon before Demon Dragon King Garv resurrected me as a Mazoku. You always tell that part of the story softly, and the part before, with the Golden Dragon's killing, regretfully. You weren't even alive at the time, were you, Mother?  
  
It's kind of amusing. If you put all three parts of my life together, I am far older than you. Yet I call you Mother.  
  
As you are.  
  
Mr. Xellos killed your family. That much I know. Who was my family? Even you do not know. Your race killed them, didn't they? You feel guilty, yet you were not yet alive then.  
  
How typical.  
  
You are a good mother. All the right smiles and hugs, all the right amount of embarrassing affection when my friends come over. The right amount of Val Clean That Room's and Val Finish Your Homework's. With the right emphasis on each word to show that it should be capitalized, should it ever be written down.  
  
What was my other mother like?  
  
What was your mother like, Mother?  
  
I sometimes wonder if you and Mr. Xellos could ever come to terms. You would make an interesting couple. If you could.  
  
You are not all that different, you two. Both so stubborn. Both so unable to convince themselves of their feelings.  
  
Both afraid of those same feelings.  
  
Even I can see through your flimsy barricades.  
  
Why can't you?  
  
You, who can see through every lie I try. You, who can always tell if I'm not feeling well, or if I'm feeling down. You, Mother. Who can see through me like glass.  
  
Maybe it's only because you are not Mr. Xellos' mother.  
  
That's an even more amusing concept.  
  
And Mr. Xellos. The 'all-knowing Trickster Priest'. So he introduced himself to me. He cannot see through your pretense.  
  
Perhaps he is frightened of what lies there, as well.  
  
The powerful General/Priest to the Beastmaster, frightened of what lies behind a Golden Ryuuzoku's blockade between the world and her emotions.  
  
That's kind of amusing too.  
  
If you did manage to overcome these obstacles.  
  
One day, realize how you feel.  
  
Find what lies beneath the first layer of the personality.  
  
Admit you can love a race you hate.  
  
Perhaps then I could find what a father is like.  
  
Try, Mother?  
  
Try … dare I even think it?  
  
Father?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Lokogato: 0.0 Wow … I did it again … yet another tingeing, I guess you would call it. A romance that's not quite sure whether the coupling is going to be an item or not … Xellia, I guess … should I finish it so it's not a tingeing? I write too many tingeing fics these days. READ AND REVIEW, PEOPLE!!! And tell me if I should finish it.  
  
Filia: *mace-sama makes an appearance* lokogato-sama … WHAT IS UP WITH THE XELLIA'S!! AND EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO WRITE THEM, AT LEAST Put *MY* NAME FIRST!!  
  
Xellos: *nods agreement with everything* Hey, wait. Why YOUR name?  
  
Filia: 'Coz I'm so much BETTER, obviously.  
  
Xellos: REAlly?  
  
Filia: Uh-huh.  
  
Xellos: What makes you so sure?  
  
Filia: Well, why should they put YOUR name first?  
  
Xellos: Err …  
  
Filia: See? *sticks out tongue*  
  
Xellos: Grr … 


End file.
